


A New Future

by theforgetfulalchemist



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:01:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 15,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27195500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theforgetfulalchemist/pseuds/theforgetfulalchemist
Summary: The Best Friend Squad brings Catra to her new home
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 207





	1. Chapter 1

After a long trip through space restoring magic to the universe, the best friend squad was finally home.

Glimmer yawned as Bow put an arm over her shoulder. “I dunno about you guys but I’m going to sleep for a week”

“And I’m going to tune up Darla with Entrapta” Bow said excitedly. “We may be able to find out where you come from, Catra”

Catra’s ears flattened nervously. ‘I’m...not sure I want to know”

Bow bumped Catra with his shoulder and gave her a gentle smile “We don’t have to if you don’t want. In any case this is where you belong now.”

Catra blushed and smiled sheepishly. Glimmer patted her on the back and Adora took her hand.

“Welcome home” Adora said quietly, leaning into Catra.

Glimmer looked at them slyly. “I’m sure Adora wouldn’t mind sharing her room”

Catra and Adora blushed deeply. Adora stammered and Catra muttered “Shut up, Sparkles”

Glimmer and Bow laughed and soon even Catra was joining in.

They reached the bridge leading up to the castle and walked up to the castle’s front doors and main hall.

Adora let go of Catra’s hand “Race you to my room!” she shouted and sprinted ahead.

“Oh, what? Who’s the cheater now?” Catra demanded, charging after Adora.

“Honestly those two have been acting like little kids since we got back” Glimmer said bemusedly, stifling another yawn.

“They’re just excited to have each other again” Bow said, kissing her. “They have a lot of catching up to do”

“Well I have a lot of sleep to catch up on” Glimmer put her head on Bow’s shoulder and began to doze on her feet.

“Come on, you, let’s get you recharged” Bow laughed, helping her along.

Down the hall Adora made a mad dash for her room, Catra right behind her.  
“How’s it feel to be so slow, Catra?”

“Shut up idiot, you had a head start!”

Adora overshot her room, and had to skid to a halt and run back. Both of them were laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.

They collapsed onto the hall floor, in a fit of giggles.

“This is your room? It’s huge. Is that a bathtub?”

“Uh yeah” Adora admitted sheepishly.

“Are you telling me you’ve been living here this whole time and I got that tiny officer’s quarters? How unfair is that?” she smirked “And did you really replace your fluffy bed with a hard one? Seriously, Adora, what do you have against relaxing?”

“I’ll relax when I’m dead”

Catra looked startled “Please don’t say that”

Adora’s expression sobered. “I’m sorry”

“I couldn’t sleep on the soft one.” Adora said after a while. “Too used to bunk beds. And...”

“And?”

“You weren’t there” Adora said quietly.

“Oh”

Catra ran her claws lightly on the wall. “Hey you remember the picture we drew when we were little?”

“Yeah, heh, I gave myself fangs”

“I sort of...scratched it up. I’m sorry. I was really mad at you at the time.”

After a pause, Adora said “Stay right there”

She ran into her room, rummaged through her desk and brought out a pen.

“We can make a new drawing”

She doodled on the wall, drawing herself in her new She Ra tiara and of course, fangs.

Catra grinned widely and took the pen, drawing herself with her new short hair and fangs to match Adora’s.

“A new future” she said.

“Race you Darla so we can mess with Bow” 

“You’re on!”

That night the four of them had a best friend squad sleep over in Adora’s room and as Catra lay curled up listening to Bow’s snores and Adora’s sleep fighting, she felt like she was home.


	2. Chapter 2

Catra woke up the next morning lying on the pile of her sleeping friends. Her cheek was pressed against Glimmer’s cape and she was drooling.  
She had never slept so well or so deeply, not since her sleepovers with Adora.

Speaking of, there was Adora on the stupidly hard surface of her bed sleep fighting who knew what. 

Drool was coming down her stupid beautiful face.

Catra smiled softly and took Adora’s hands as she thrashed. Adora whined adorably in her sleep.

“Who are you always fighting, you dummy?”

“Catra, no, don’t…” Adora mumbled sleepily.

Catra recoiled as if she had been shot and looked away sadly.

“Catra...you’re back” Adora murmured and a jolt went through Catra. 

She turned around but Adora was still asleep. Now Adora was still and she was smiling, eyes still closed tight.

Catra’s ears twitched and she smiled widely.

Her friends were still conked out so she went out into the hall without them.

The guards nodded to her, and she waved self consciously, ears flattened. She wondered if she had ever fought any of them.

She found a wide balcony where the bright morning sun was streaming across the valley and the lake. 

Catra stretched and basked in the sun, purring. She almost felt like curling up and sleeping in a sun beam all day.

“Catra?”

Adora was walking toward her rubbing her eyes. Adora took her into her arms.

“Hey you”

“Hey’ Catra replied “I didn’t wake you up did I?”

“No, Bow bashing me in the face with a pillow woke me up” Adora laughed.

“I gotta remember that one.”

“Shut up” Adora laughed again, throwing a mock punch that Catra easily dodged.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Adora asked “they have this thing called cereal. It’s great.”

“Are you saying you can get more than ration bars here? Like without having to go through the black market?”

“Black market?”

“Never mind. Cereal sounds good.”

“Okay. Let’s harass Glimmer until she wakes up”

Adora took Catra’s hand and moved to drag her along but Catra grabbed her tight, stopping her from going forward.

“Hey, Adora...I’m...I’m sorry. For everything.” she babbled “I was in a bad place...and I made bad choices and…”

Adora enveloped her in a hug and she didn’t have to say any more. 

“You want to see my favorite place before food?” Adora asked. Catra calmed down enough to nod.

Adora pulled her downstairs into a field of green grass.

“I practiced using my sword here when I first got here.” Adora told her. “And it’s where...uh...I made Swifty all magic-y”

“You what now?”

“Never mind”

“Why are you so weird?”

They both grinned.

Catra looked up at the castle parapets. “Bet I can climb higher than you”

“You’re on!”

They climbed and climbed until the wind whipped their faces raw and they were at the top of the castle.

Red faced and breathing hard they sat contentedly.

“Wow, you can see the whole valley up here” Adora said. She stood up shading her eyes from the sun. 

“I think I can see Bow’s house”

Catra gently took her hands and pulled her close so they could kiss.

As they pulled apart, Bow stuck his head out of the window and looked up. “There you guys are! Come down to breakfast, the eggs are getting cold!”

At the war table Glimmer was yawning, bed head making the hair on her left side stick up. Her face fell into a plate of eggs. 

Bow was talking to Entrapa on his tracker pad.

“Darla is almost space worthy again!” Entrapa shouted excitedly, pressing her face into the screen as Catra and Adora walked in.

Glimmer raised her head to pass Catra some breakfast and smiled.

“So how was your first night in Brightmoon?”

Catra ate a bite of cereal. She had never tasted anything so good. Without realizing it, tears streamed down her face.

“Woah, are you ok?” Bow asked gently, putting down his tracker pad. Entrapa was still shouting about Darla.

“I’m fine, idiots” Catra said fiercely, wiping her eyes.

“I think it’s time for a best friend squad hug” Glimmer said.

They all hugged Catra tightly, lying their cheeks against hers. Her ears flattened and her tail swayed happily.

“Get off, guys” Catra said but she was laughing and crying knowing she had many more meals with them ahead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea from the blm stream that Catra and Adora relax in space where there are no expectations of who they are supposed to be.

After breakfast, Entrapta arrived at Brightmoon, flying Darla into the inner courtyard. The air swirled around them as she landed, blowing their hair everywhere.

Bow’s eyes were shining and he was practically squealing with excitement. Glimmer and Adora smiled fondly at him. Catra looked at Darla, unamused.

Adora bumped her lightly. “Be nice to Entrapta, ok?”

“But she’s so annoying”

“Catra”

“Fine”

Entrapta fell out of the loading dock before the ramp could hit the ground. Everyone winced. She shot up again like nothing happened.

“Darla is almost ready!” she declared loudly. “Someone just needs to take her on a test drive!”

“We’ll do it, right, Catra?” Adora turned to her. “If you want”

Catra blushed and stammered “You and me? Alone? In space? Yeah, ok”

Promising to be back by the time the princesses met about the war recovery effort, they boarded Darla. Adora sat in the captain’s seat and Catra jumped onto her lap purring.

“I like this view, princess”

“Well all I can see is your tail” Adora said, laughing “Can you move so I don’t crash and kill us both?”

Catra jumped down nimbly. When they broke Etheria’s atmosphere Adora put on cruise control and sat down on the floor with Catra. She leaned into Catra, breathing in her scent.

Catra purred. “This is nice”

“Yeah, it is” Adora said warmly.

She toyed with Catra’s hair which had grown a bit shaggy over the past few weeks.

“Your hair is growing back” she commented “you always had beautiful hair”

Catra purred at her touch and leaned against her shoulder.

Suddenly, Adora got up, making Catra fall to the floor.

“Hey!”

“Sorry” Adora said sheepishly “I just remembered, Bow stashed our game here!”

She took out a board and several figures from under the captain’s chair.

“You have figures of yourselves? Seriously. Losing to you. How?

Adora smirked. “And guess what? We have a little Catra”

She held up the figure bow had made of her.

Catra groaned.

Adora laughed and sat cross legged, giving Catra her figure.

“Ok, roll for initiative”

“I don’t know what that means. Wait, when Scorpia said you guys were planning the attack on the pass… you were just playing a stupid game?”

“It’s not stupid, it’s a war game and it’s cool” Adora insisted.

“If you say so, princess. Fine, I’ll roll for whatever”

Adora knocked over tiny Catra. “You fell into a pit. Boom!”

“Adora!”

They both cracked up.

They hardly noticed when Darla landed back where they started.

They emerged holding hands.

Bow waved as Entrapa made incoherent noses of excitement.

Glimmer smiled knowingly. Adora and Catra gave each other gentle looks.

“Do that again sometime, princess?”

“Absolutely.”

“Just don’t throw me into any more pits.”

“No promises.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I watched the crown and it immediately makes me think of what Bow and Glimmer would face after the series. A young couple in love but also having to consider obligations of leadership.

The Best Friend Squad had been in meetings all week.   
When finally the last one ended arrived, Adora falling asleep and hitting her head on the table and Bow struggled to keep his eyes open, Glimmer called an emergency.  
“We need a vacation, stat”

Adora jerked awake with a startled cry. “I’m up!”

“We’ve been in reparation meetings since we got home” Glimmer complained. “We need to get away”

Catra came up from where she had been curled under the table.

“I know” Glimmer said excitedly “Catra hasn’t seen Mystecor yet!”

“Uh, weird wizards that cast weird spells that mess with your mind? Pass” Catra yawned.

“Cmon, you’ll love it” Glimmer insisted.

“We could use some relaxation” Adora said, wiping the drool from her face and trying to fix her bedhead.

“I…don’t think I know how to do that” Catra admitted.

“Then we’ll show you” Bow said, leaning onto Catra’s furry shoulder and dozing slightly.

“Bow!” Glimmer cried sharply.

“Wha? I’m up!”

Aunt Casta met them. When it was time to jump down from the moving mountain, Catra and Adora had a contest to see who could jump the coolest. Adora almost made it, but tripped and landed on her face at the last second. Catra laughed clutching her sides, but she lalso helped her up and made sure she wasn’t hurt.

Adora and Bow went straight to the steam grotto and promptly fell asleep in the water. Catra curled up outside the springs, outside the water but enjoying the warm steamy air.

Glimmer walked along the beach.  
It had been one of her favorite places since childhood. She fondly remembered taking Bow here when they were little, chasing each other over the sand and making sand castles. Bow had gotten pinched by a crab and when she had laughed he picked it up and chased her with it, both shrieking.

She giggled to herself.

“I was hoping to find you alone, dear” Aunt Casta was there on the beach like magic. “Please sit with me”

“what is it, Auntie?” she sat down on a beach towel with her.

“I hear you and Bow are an item lately”

Glimmer blushed. “I guess so, yeah”

“I think it isn’t too early to think about marriage”

Glimmer blushed deeper and stammered “What? Why?”

“My sweet Glimmer. You have to understand we’re in unprecedented territory. This was never supposed to happen”

Glimmer looked away. “Don’t remind me” she said bitterly.

“What I mean is, succession was never an issue before now. Your mother was immortal. She married your father because she loved him and she had you because she wanted you. But you are half human, love. Brightmoon will need an heir eventually.”

“Auntie, that’s a lot. Bow and I have only just started seeing each other and…” just grabbing him tightly and saying ‘I love you’ had taken all of her courage and strength. How could she put this on his plate? “And I don’t think we’re ready for that conversation yet” she finished lamely.

“It doesn’t have to be today. Or tomorrow. But think about what I said, Glimmer”

Bow emerged from the steam grotto rubbing his eyes. He found Glimmer brooding in the sand.

Bow sat next to her and pulled her close. “Hey what’s wrong?” she just nestled into his touch. Trying to cheer her up, Bow grinned “remember when I chased you with a crab?”

Glimmer burst into laughter. “I was just thinking about that!”

Reluctantly, she told him what her aunt had said.

“I’m sorry” she said “if I was still just a princess this wouldn’t bs an issue. I could just do what I want. But now I have obligations to Etheria, to my people. I don’t want to ruin what we have by rushing into things. This is new, and I’ve wanted it for a long time but I thought it would be…different”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out together. You’re the queen, they can’t make you do something you're not ready for. Besides, everything is different”

He gestured to Catra and Adora who had come out of the caves chasing each other. They ran by the ocean and Adora kept trying to splash Catra, both yelling and laughing.

“A few years ago we would have never guessed that our two best friends in the world would be Horde soldiers”

Glimmer decided so long as she had the three of them, she would be ok. She smiled and kissed him.

“I love you, Bow”

“I love you too, Princess”


	5. Chapter 5

After a feast in Mystecor’s dining hall (“I had it redone again, Glimmer”) Adora and Catra snuck out to the beach. They walked along the sand, holding hands.

Catra laughed, clear and happy in the dark. making Adora’s heart beat faster. Catra could hear it, so close to her. “I don’t think we’ve had this much fun since…”

She stopped herself, looking down, suddenly sober. She had been about to say “since our last sleepover”. That had been the night Adora left. They talked all night, Catra curled up on her bed, and next day she had been gone.

Adora seemed to know what she was thinking because she squeezed Catra’s hand tight and said “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. Not anymore.”

Catra smiled lovingly and kissed her.

“You know I wanted you to be with me more than almost anything, right?” Adora asked softly. “I thought about you every day. I missed you so much but it… wasn’t about me. I had to make things right.”

“I know. I know that now.” Catra said gently. Suddenly, she smirked. “Adora, think fast!”

She pounced on Adora, knocking her to the sand with an “oof!”

They both laughed uncontrollably as Catra rolled off of her.

They lay together side by side by the waves. Adora’s arms were stiff at her side, but she was smiling contentedly. Catra was more relaxed, spreading her arms and legs making a sand angel.

Adora rolled on her side to face her.

“We told you you’d like vacations”

“This is even better than a party” Catra said. Her voice was low and relaxed and her eyes were closed. Her eyes shot open and her ears flattened.

“Hey, Adora. Since we’re on an honesty kick here” after ‘I love you’ her other secrets seemed small “when I was the boss in the Crimson Waste…Scorpia said we should have stayed there. Forget you.”

“Oh.” Adora said in a small voice. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because I couldn’t. Forget you.”

“Oh” Adora blushed.

“I loved being away from the horde, I loved being appreciated. But you weren’t there. I wasn’t…whole, if that makes sense. It didn’t feel right without you”

Adora hugged her close and deftly moved Catra’s foot so it wouldn’t get splashed by a wave.

“I know exactly what you mean”

Catra fell asleep in her arms, feeling whole.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hero" broke me.

The meeting had gone on for hours. All the princesses had gathered at the Brightmoon war table to discuss post war relief and it wasn’t going as smoothly as glimmer had said it would.

Frosta had fallen asleep about an hour before and nobody had the heart to wake her.

Catra smirked at Adora and rolled her eyes. Adora smiled back and lightly touched Catra’s foot with her own under the table.

“Can we all just agree” Perfuma said anxiously “that Elberion could use some new plants?” she produced a pink flower.

Glimmer groaned. “This is hopeless. All of our kingdoms are stretched thin from the war. Fighting the Horde took all our resources”

Catra looked down in shame. “I’m sorry” she said quietly.

Adora took her hand. “It’s ok”

“Is it, though?” Mermista asked drily.

Adora shot her a contemptuous look.

Mermista raised her hands in surrender.

Catra yawned. “I think the pipsqueak has the right idea” she said looking at Frosta.

“Probably a good time to take a break” Glimmer decided.

Catra blushed self consciously but kissed Adora any way.

“I’m gonna go take a nap in…our room.” Catra blushed deeper. They had been dating for some time but it still amazed her they were sharing a room as girlfriends instead of bunk mates.

When the recess was over Adora went to get Catra who was sleeping peacefully on their bed. Adora couldn’t believe even still how lucky she was, how grateful she was to have chosen love and life over sacrifice.

Suddenly she remembered what day it was. The meetings had been occupying her so much lately she had nearly forgotten. And she had promised to bring Catra.

Adora left a note to Glimmer to let her know where she was going.

“Wake up, Catra”

Adora shook Catra who had fallen asleep at the foot of her bed. 

“Huh? Wha?”

“Come on!”

Adora pulled Catra down the hall, down the bridge and into the woods. Catra yawned and shivered at   
the cool air.

“Adora, the woods are cold. The bed is warm. Do the math.” Catra said drowsily.

“But it’s pie making day”

“It’s what?”

“You’ll see”

Adora took her to Madam Razz’s hut and gently opened the front curtain.

“Razz? I brought her. Woah!”

Adora ducked, barely dodging a rolling pin that went flying.

Catra hissed and extended her claws. 

“It’s ok!” Adora assured her. 

Razz rose from rummaging through her cupboards. “Dearie, there you are. It’s time to make Mara her pie”

Adora couldn’t tell if Razz remembered Mara was dead until she gazed at Adora with sad, watery eyes.

“Mara would be so proud of you, Dearie” Razz whispered.

Catra gave her a confused frown. Adora took her hand as Razz led them through the Whispering Woods, picking berries as they went.

“Who is Mara?” Catra asked.

“She was the She Ra before me. She loved Razz’s pies.”

“Didn’t she live a thousand years ago? How could she know Razz?”

“It’s...complicated”

“Clearly” Catra said dryly.

Adora smiled sadly at Razz. “It’s so unfair we’re here and she’s gone” she whispered.

Catra’s ears fell flat, looking at Adora’s troubled face.

Catra nudged Adora gently. “She would be proud of you, though. I mean you saved the world.”

Adora smiled, happier this time, and kissed Catra quickly. “You saved the world. I wouldn’t have had the strength without you. And…”

“And?”

“Mara told me to chose happiness. To choose to live. She said...I deserved love.”

Catra cuddled close to her as they walked. “You do” she said quietly.

They spent the afternoon in Razz’s hut, kneading dough and mixing berries. Adora and Catra were covered in flower and berry juice.  
“You look ridiculous” Catra laughed.

“Says the person with blackberry all over their face”

When the pie was done, they took it to the first one’s ruin and placed it on Mara’s seat.

“Hello again, Dearie” Razz said sadly.

“We better get back before Sparkles blows a fuse” Catra said.

Adora nodded. As they left she turned for one last look, and a silent thanks to the girl who deserved love too.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea from the stream that Scorpia and Perfuma got married first. And Catra and Adora practicing being parents by babysitting their kids lol!

“We’re going to be late” Adora said.

Catra was in their room, smoothing out her tux. She slicked back her hair, looking at the result in the mirror.

Adora was already in her red dress.

“Explain to me what this is again?” Ctra had been living at Brightmoon for some years but she was still shaky on some of the customs outside of the Fright Zone. 

It still blew her mind sometimes that their meals didn’t mainly consist of ration bars. It had taken a few weeks to get her head around the concept of baths and she still wasn’t a fan.

“A wedding, Catra” Adora explained. She stood next to Catra at the mirror adjusting her hairpin. “Remember? Spinnerella and Netossa are married. So are Bow’s dads”

“I guess I kinda get why Perfuma would want to marry Scorpia. She’s…nice” She tugged at her bow tie. “Nicer than me”

Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder and gave her a loving smile. “You are nice” Adora said.

Catra’s ears flattened timidly and she returned the smile.

The wedding was in Plumeria, under Perfuma’s runestone tree.

When they arrived someone put a crown of flowers on catra’s hair and she hissed softly. Adora laughed as Catra blushed and took the crown off.

“Parties are stupid” Catra growled sourly.

“You love parties” Adora laughed as Catra blushed.

Catra and Adora were seated at the big banquet table next to the brides.

Adora wasted no time stuffing her face.

Catra smiled at her fondly. “How many times...” she stopped short. She was going to say how many times has Shadow Weaver told you to chew your food? But Shadow Weaver had no place, on a joyful day like this “Nevermind” Catra chuckled, wiping the food from Adora’s face.

Adora grinned lovingly and kissed her.

Catra turned to Scorpia who was blushingly accepting congratulating. Scorpia noticed her. “Hey, Wildcat”

Catra’s ears twitched. “I just wanted to say…I’m happy for you. And…I’m sorry things between us were the way they were”

Scorpia teared up and gave her a big hug. “Im a--”  
  
“--hugger. Got it. Thanks, Scorpia.”

That night, there was dancing under the tree.

Catra sat under it, gazing at the new stars.

Adora came up to sit beside her, holding a drink. She scooted close enough to touch shoulders.

“Hey”

“Hey”

Adora suddenly gasped. “I totally forgot I had candy in here” she whispered, pulling some sour candies from her jacket she had tied around her waist.

“Score!”

She chowed down and in the waning lantern light, Catra couldn’t take her eyes off of her. Catra knew this was the person she wanted to spend forever with.


	8. Chapter 8

Catra had been looking at the ring for hours. Her hair had grown back and Glimmer had helped her tie it in a sort of messy half ponytail, hair spilling over her shoulders. 

Adora and Glimmer were on a diplomatic mission in Plumeria, so she felt it was safe to take out the ring she meant to surprise Adora with. She had it made by the Brightmoon royal jeweler and hid it in her drawer. Nobody looked in her drawer on account of sometimes there were dead mice in there. 

She gulped nervously, opening and shutting the cushioned case. She couldn’t do this. She could. She would. No, she couldn’t.

She growled in frustration. What were the words that conveyed how much Adora meant to her? “Will you marry me?” seemed insufficient. What do you say to the person you've known and loved all your life, who felt like a part of you?

There was a knock on the door and Catra shrieked in surprise, almost dropping the ring.

“Catra?” It was Bow’s voice.

Catra clutched her chest. “Come in, Bow. Geez you scared me!”

Bow opened the door. In the years since the war ended he had grown a small ponytail and a handsome rugged beard.

He was also holding a ring. “Glimmer and Adora will be home soon. I think it’s time we make a plan of attack.”

“You’re going to ask Glimmer to marry you? Wait, how did you know I was going to ask Adora?”

“You are not sneaky, Catra”

“Shut up”

“I just...don’t know what to say” Bow admitted. “I’ve know Glimmer since we were small. She feels like…”

“A part of you?”

“Yes”

“Yeah”

They both sighed. 

“I’m afraid” Bow said reluctantly, rubbing his neck. “I’m afraid she’ll say no. If we get married I’ll be king and that’s a lot of responsibility. I’m afraid she won’t want to burden me with that. I don’t know how to tell her I don’t care about that. I just want her, that’s all.”

“I still sometimes wake up and worry this is the day Adora will get tired of me. And leave me. I know that’s stupid. But still.”

A guard knocked on the frame of the open door. “Master Archer Bow? Lady Catra? Queen Glimmer and Princess Adora are back.”

Catra and Bow gave each other determined looks.

“Good luck, Horde Scum”

“You too, Stupid Rebel”

In the hall, Glimmer was taking off her cape and yawning. “Hey, Bow” she said cheerfully. “How was…”

She saw the ring and her eyes widened. “Bow...I...wow” she whispered. “I mean, are you sure? You know what this would mean”

“I do. And I accept that. I just want to be with you. I know it won’t be easy, but I think if we can win a war, we can do this”

Glimmer grinned broadly, her eyes shinning. She kissed him.

“Then, yes”

Catra held Adora’s hand as she pulled her onto the grounds. Adora laughed happily. “At least let me change” she protested. Adora glowed and gone was her tiara and she was back to her normal self. Not a princess, just Catra’s Adora.

Adora smirked devilishly and grabbed Catra into a wrestling hold. “I won’t let you go till you admit you missed me!”

“Cut it out” Catra said but she was laughing. She wormed her way out of the hold and wrestled Adora onto the soft grass. They were both laughing hysterically.

As their laughter died, they started into each other’s eyes, drinking each other in.

They lay on their sides facing each other.

Adora toyed with Catra’s hair.

“I did. Miss you” Catra admitted blushingly.

“Me too” Adora whispered.

“In fact I’ve been waiting for you to get home because I...have something to ask you.”

She fished the ring out of her pocket. Adora blushed.

“Catra! What…”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I always have. It’s always been you and me, except…” she faltered. The war they fought on opposite sides of was still a wound. “Anyway, this would just make it official. Or whatever”

Adora gave her the same soft look she gave years ago when she confessed her love in Catra’s arms.

“Yes” Adora whispered. “Yes”


	9. Chapter 9

“Here you are, Your Majesty. Your Highness.”  
  
Brightmoon’s jeweler/tailor (they were understaffed) presented Glimmer and Adora with what she had been working on.

She held up a set of perfectly round, perfectly pink earrings.

“For Your Majesty, the late queen’s favorite ear ring set. I spent all day polishing them.”

Glimmer took the ear rings, smiling softly with misty eyes.

She rubbed the tears away. “I wish she could have been here for this. She always loved Bow.”

Adora held her tightly in a reassuring embrace “I know” she said softly. She laughed. “I wonder what her reaction would have been if she found out I was dating a Horde soldier.”

Glimmer gave a short sad laugh. “She would have a fit. We were always giving her fits”

The jeweler/tailor handed Adora a cape with a wing design clasp. “the color will bring out Lady Catra’s unique eyes”

“Well should we go find our dumb fiancees?” Glimmer smirked.

“We did say we would do this together. We’re the Best Friend Squad after all”

They found Bow on the grounds tinkering with an old bot from the war. Catra was sitting next to him, watching.

The bot surged to life and gave Bow a small electric shock. Catra fell over laughing.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop messing with that thing?” Glimmer told Bow as he sucked on his wounded fingers.

“I’m not messing. I’m experimenting”

“Right’ Adora said sceptically.

“He’s messing” Catra confirmed.

“Catra!” Bow protested.

“Bow!” Catra mocked, grinning.

Glimmer rolled her eyes good naturally. “Ok, dorks. Adora and I decided it’s time for the clothing swap”

“But the wedding isn’t until next month” Bow pointed out.

“Do you want Aunt Casta breathing down our necks about the clothing swap right before the wedding?”

“Point”

Glimmer took out her mother’s ear rings.

Bow’s eyes went wide “Glimmer” he said softly “are you sure?”

“More than sure. If she were here, I know she’d want us to use them”

Bow had gotten his ear pierced one night when he was out drinking with Seahawk. Long story. He took out his stud and replaced it with Angella’s.

Adora gently draped the cape over Catra’s shoulders and kissed her sweetly as she fastened it.

“I hope whenever you wear this, you think of me and feel safe”

Glimmer and Bow walked arm in arm back to the castle gently squabbling about the bot, periodically giving each other noogies and kisses

Adora pounced on Catra and sent her crashing down and they fell into a giggling heap like they did a million time before growing up. But this was better. There was no Horde, no Shadow Weaver, no war. Just them, Glimmer and Bow, and a new future they couldn’t have imagined back then.

“I always dreamed about this” Catra murmured into Adora’s neck, surprising her.

“Really?”

“Well, not marriage exactly. I didn’t know what that was”

Adora laughed. “We didn’t even know what a party was”

“I just knew I wanted to be with you. Always. I couldn’t even put it into words for a long time, that I loved you. I didn’t think about the future much but when I did you were always there”

“Me too” Adora confessed. “Growing up, during the war…I pretended I didn’t love you. I told myself over and over again I didn’t love you. That it was best just to let you go”

She smiled sadly. “But I could never really convince myself. You know those few years we were separated I dreamed about you almost every night? I never wanted to leave you, Catra. But it was bigger than us”

Catra cuddled close to her. “I know. I know that now”

Adora hugged her tight. They stayed like that until Glimmer called them for dinner in the dying light, feeling safe.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora's wish

“I can’t do this. Yes, I can. No, I can’t” Adora paced her room. That morning, Glimmer had helped her into a long white dress then disappeared into her room saying it was bad luck for Bow to see her before the wedding that afternoon. Adora didn’t see what the fuss was about. She had raced Catra down the hall just an hour ago, before Bow pulled her away for a tux fitting.

Bow peaked into Adora’s room. “Have you seen Glimmer?”

“She left saying something about bad luck?” Adora said, fighting with her tiara that had gotten tangled in her hair.

Bow sighed and muttered something that sounded like “What am I gonna do with her?” But he smiled affectionally. “I’ll find her. By the way, Catra was looking-“

“There you are, idiot!”

Catra came out of nowhere, ran past Bow and tackled Adora to the ground, laughing.

Adora yelped, falling into a heap of dress and Catra.

“…looking for you so she could do that.” Bow put his hand to his forehead like he had a headache. “I’m gonna find Glimmer. Behave, you two” he smirked.

Catra helped Adora up and they fell onto Adora’s bed, side by side both in hysterics.

As the laughter died down, Catra turned to stare at the woman who would be her wife in a few hours. “You look beautiful”

Adora blushed. “You too” she whispered.

“Are you sure you like the ring?” Catra asked grabbing Adora’s hand to inspect it. 

“It’s perfect” Adora said, kissing her. “but more importantly, I like you. And most importantly, is that a mouse?”

“A mouse? Where?”

Catra was on high alert, her fur standing on end, eyes darting everywhere. The she realized.

“Haha. Very funny, Adora” she pounced onto Adora. Adora was cracking up. Soon Catra was laughing too, and Adora held her close.

“When we have kids, the first thing I’m gonna teach them is how to play is that a mouse”

“Do not!”

Adora’s was suddenly serious. “I dreamed of this, you know. When the failsafe was about to kill me and you pulled me back, I saw us like this. Bow and Glimmer too. Married. Maybe we had kids.”

Catra snuggled closer. “You dork” she whispered lovingly. “You were about to die and you wasted time thinking about me?”

“You were all I could think about when I was about to die that day”

“Yeah. Me too”

There was a discrete cough at the door. Catra and Adora stiffened and scrambled up, standing at attention as if they were still in the Horde.

A guard was standing in the hallway.

“We weren’t goofing off” Adora said unconvincingly.

“Of course, Your Highness” the guard said, non plussed. “Her Majesty the queen sent me to tell you the ceremony is about to start”

A beautiful wish, Horde Prime had said. Back then, this seemed like an impossible, desperate dream. When she saw Catra had followed her, when she gave her a soft smile and said everything would be ok…she had thought that was the last time she would ever see her face. The face of the girl she loved.

Now she was holding Catra’s hand as they hurried down the hallways, both still giggling. A beautiful wish.

On the steps to the grounds, Frosta was waving a spear at guests as the (self imposed) bouncer. She had a growth spurt a few summers ago, so she was almost as tall as Bow now. Her hair had grown down past her shoulders.

She growled at Seahawk who put up his hands in surrender. Mermista groaned. She met Adrora’s eyes and Adora smirked.

“He’s just my ride!” Mermista called. 

“Right!” Adora called back sarcastically. Mermista groaned again.

Folding chairs had been set up in neat rows on the grass facing a dais and balloon arch. Perfuma had gone wild with the decorating, making flowers grow in every corner of the venue, even under guests’ feet.

In place of honor at the front were the parents of the bride and groom. Lance, George and Micah were hugging each other and sobbing uncontrollably with joy.

Bow looked at the women and smiled. “Best Friend Squad?”

“Best Friend Squad” 

Bow and Catra took their place at the dais and there was hush. Slowly Adora and Glimmer made their way down the carpet between the rows of guests.

Scorpia and Perfuma’s adorable toddler daughter walked in front of them as the flower girl/ring bearer.

Despite her pincers making it hard to grab the ring pillow and flowers, and her shock of white hair getting into her eyes she did an admirable job.

Seahawk provided the wedding march music on his squeezebox so it was more pirate-y than a royal wedding song should probably be.

Glimmer snickered. “Mom would kill us if she were here” she whispered to Adora. She sobered. “I wish she were here”

Adora gave her a reassuring squeeze.

When they reached the dais, Adora took Catra’s hand and Glimmer, Bows.

“Dearly Beloved. We are gathered here today…”

After a long speech about commitment that left the four of them rolling their eyes it was time for vows.

“Glimmer” Bow said softly “you were there for me when I was just learning to use a bow. You let me be myself when nobody else would.”

“Bow you were my first friend and no matter how insecure I got, no matter what mistakes I made…you were always there for me.”

Adora looked at Catra with a goofy smile. A beautiful wish.

“Catra no matter what happened no matter how much we fought… I never stopped loving you”

Catra rubbed tears from her eyes. “Idiot” she murmured, sniffing. She took a deep breath. 

“I once told someone I had a bad life. But you were the only thing that made growing up the Horde bearable. I was stupid to ever let you go, but I promise to spend the rest of my life making up for it. I promise to be worth this second chance”

“Do you take this person to have and to hold as your lawfully wedded spouse?”

“I do” the four of them said in unison.

As they made their way arm in arm back down the aisle to cheers and pelted flowers, Adora reflected they had always been a family. This just made it official.

She grinned at Bow and Glimmer laughing and holding each other tight. She shared a soft smile with Catra.

A beautiful wish.


	11. Chapter 11

The day after the wedding, Catra and Adora had to postpone their honeymoon because there was a national emergency.

“I can’t find a babysitter!” Perfuma cried in dismay through Bow’s tracker pad screen. “Scorpia is performing at the Grotto and I’m supposed to go support her but there’s nobody to watch the baby! You two are the only people left!”

Catra and Adora gave each other anxious looks. It was too bad Bow and Glimmer had already taken off for their honeymoon. Bow was great with kids.

“I dunno, I’ve never looked out for a kid before” Adora said uncertainly.

Catra shrugged. “Can’t be harder than running the Horde”

They took the skiff to the outskirts of the Fright Zone. Perfuma met them with a diaper bag and a very mad child.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Perfuma asked, holding her squirming toddler. 

“No! No!” Flower screamed. Scorpia had wanted to name her The Most Adorable Desert Flower Ever but Perfuma had talked her down.

“Oh yeah, we got this covered, no problem” Adora said with her usual cheerful optimism.

Perfuma handed Flower to Catra whose ears flattened uncertainly.

Flower pulled Catra’s ears and laughed. “Yeah no problem” Catra ground out through the pain, wincing. Her eyes watered.

Perfuma kissed Flower on the head. “Your mommies will be home soon. Be good for your aunties, ok?”

“No!” Flower said stubbornly.

The Fright Zone had changed dramatically since the end of the war. The land was restored to lush grass and flowers courtesy of Perfuma. The industrial buildings where replaced with brightly painted houses.

Flower was bawling for her mothers now. Catra held her and looked around hopelessly. “Adora, what do I do?”

“Well, whenever you had a nightmare when we were little I scratched your ears until you went back to sleep”

“She doesn't have cat ears!”

“She just misses her moms” Adora said. “Come on” she took Flower from Catra’s arms and took them to the Hall of Horrors. Adora held her up in front of one of her ancestors that looked like Scorpia. 

“Look, it’s your mommy”

“That’s not my mommy!” she wailed.

They brought her to Scorpia’s officer's quarters with the picture of baby Scorpia and her mothers.

“Not mommy!” Flower cried harder.

“Hmmm. Oh, I know!” Adora snapped her fingers and pulled out some crayons from the baby bag. “Go nuts” 

She gave Flower the crayons and she went squealing in delight to draw on the wall. She drew herself with her mothers dancing in a field.

Adora couldn't help but smile.

Flower yawned, tired out from her tantrum. She curled up in Catra’s lap and dozed off.

Catra gently pat her head and grinned. She turned to Adora and had a sudden vision of holding their own child, a small kitten with brown fur and mismatched eyes.

“Do you think...do you think we’ll be able to do this someday?”

Adora blushed. “Have our own kid?”

Catra nodded. “I know Shadow Weaver messed me up.”

“Don’t say that, Catra”

“But I think she taught us what not to do. I think someday...we could do it”

Adora leaned against her as Flower snored. She leaned up and kissed Catra.

“I think so too.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Finally” Catra dropped her suitcase and fell face first onto the hotel bed. She rolled over with a groan.   
Darla had just touched down on resort planet. Her systems must have been even older than they thought because her GPS told them they’d be there by midafternoon. It was past midnight.

“Leave it to Entrapta to refurbish an A.I. with absolutely no common sense whatsoever” Catra groused, muffled by a pillow.  
Adora sat beside her laughing and rubbing her back. “But we’re here. Just the two of us for two whole weeks” Even now after years the though of being alone with Catra made Adora blush.  
Catra rolled over, purring, nuzzling contentedly against her. “I may almost miss Sparkles nagging me”  
“I told you when you moved in you didn’t need to catch all the mice in Brightmoon”  
“And I told you, yes I did!”  
“C’mon you brat” Adora said affectionally, giving her a noogie. “Forget mice, let’s get some real food. “  
Catra’s stomach rumbled and she blushed. “That actually sounds really good.”  
They took the elevator down to the hotel lobby, a large carpeted atrium. They stared up at the high ceiling. The hotel seemed to contain endless floors that kept going and going.  
“Have you ever seen a building this tall?” Catra asked, craning her neck.  
“I think it’s even higher than our hide out spot in the Fright Zone. Even higher than Brightmoon”  
Adora looked around her and suddenly gasped, tugging at Catra’s sleeve “Look!”  
She pointed to a bronze statue of a winged horse in the middle of the lobby.  
Adora’s eyes widened “It’s beautiful. This is the best honeymoon ever”  
Catra gave her a light punch on the arm “dork”  
“I’ll show you dork!”  
“That doesn’t even make sense!” Catra protested as Adora chased her to the buffet line. They took their place still giggling. Despite the late hour there were a lot of guests getting food. An old woman was in line in front of them. Her eyes went to their wedding bands and she grinned.  
“Congratulations, dears”  
Catra and Adora both flushed with pleasure.  
“Thanks” Adora rubbed the back of her head self-consciously.  
Catra took her hand with a shy smile as they moved up the line.  
“so how long have you two known each other?”

Catra scoffed and nudged Adora. “I’ve been stuck with this idiot my entire life”

“Brat!” Adora smirked.  
“Oh, no way!” Catra exclaimed, pointedly ignoring Adora’s goading. On the tray were gray bars almost exactly like the ration bars they ate growing up.  
Catra picked one up “People here eat this voluntarily?” she asked dryly.  
“you always did like the gray ones” Adora pointed out.  
At the end of the dining hall glass doors led to a patio and a kidney shaped pool. They sat by the edge and ate side by side .  
“Hey Adora, do…do you remember that time we were like ten, and I scratched you? But you still sat with me and you were willing to miss dinner with me?”  
“Oh yeah” Adora laughed “you punched Lonnie. I never did get why you punched her”  
“I think that was when I realized I was in love with you. And duh, idiot, I punched her because I was jealous” Catra rolled he eyes.  
Adora smirked wider. “Ha! You like me!”  
“Adora, we’re married!” Catra countered. Adora splashed some pool water her way and Catra shrieked.  
“It’s still embarrassing for you” Adora said.  
“Shut up idiot” Catra purred “just hold me”  
“I think a water fight would be better”  
“Is this revenge for me not doing the dishes before we left?”  
“Maybe” Adora admitted. Suddenly she sprung up and cannonballed into the water, creating a huge wave that Catra barely dodged.  
Adora surfaced, shouting in delight. “Come on, the water its great”  
“Adora, it’s the middle of the night and I’m a cat”  
“come on. You fought Horde Prime, you can handle a pool”  
Catra dipped her toe in. taking a deep breath she plunged in hissing and spitting, until Adora swam up to her and kissed her deeply.  
Taking chances had always been worth it with Adora by her side.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Took forever to get to this because life but I finally finished it!

Adora and Catra were spending the last day of their honeymoon by the pool much to Catra’s annoyance.

“It’s relaxing” Adora insisted.

Adora was lying on a lounge chair, stiff and definitely not relaxed.

“Okay I’m still not an expert at this” Adora admitted sheepishly.

Catra smiled fondly and took her hand. Adora immediately relaxed and breathed easier.

“Mmm. Glimmer did this for me once. Did I ever tell you about that?” Adora mumbled sleepily.

Catra raised an eyebrow.

Adora laughed. “It wasn’t like that. It was our first trip to Mystacor together and she taught me how to relax. Well, tried to anyway”  
There was a beeping from Adora’s jacket “Speaking of which”  
She fished out an extra tracker pad Bow had given had given her. Glimmer’s face filled the frame as she was letting out a frustrated groan.  
“You sound like Mermista” Adora chuckled.  
“Aunt Casta is ruining my life, Adora!” she said.  
“Ha!” Catra called from the other side of the pool.  
“Catra!” Adora admonished. “Ignore her, Glimmer. What’s wrong?”  
“Ugh! Aunt Casta is making me learn all these secrets about Mystacor. She says it’s my heritage. It’s supposed to be my honeymoon! I don’t want to learn things!”  
“I do!” came Bow’s voice from behind Glimmer. She rolled her eyes and flashed Adora a knowing smile.  
“But my husband does so there we are” she laughed.  
“Did you know this place has lasers?”  
“Yes, Bow”

“I never knew it had lasers!”  
“Hold up you guys had lasers this entire time?” Catra asked.  
Glimmer slapped her own forehead, running her hand over her face with a long suffering look.  
Her expression softened. “But I’m glad he’s happy.” She looked off into the distance at Mystacor’s beach.  
“there was a time I thought we’d never come here together again”  
“Glimmer, Dear! Dinner!” Casta called.

“Sorry guys, we gotta go” Glimmer said “Love you. Miss you”

“Miss you too, Sparkles” Catra smirked.

“Stay out of trouble, Horde Scum”

“See you soon” Adora switched off the tracker pad.

That night, they flew Darla off planet setting course back to Etheria. Adora was on the pilot seat, Catra comfortably purring on her lap. Her tail twitched over Adora’s nose.

“Do you always have to sit here?”

“Yes, Princess, deal with it”

“Stop it I can’t see! What I’m doing!”

“Make me!”

“Catra!”  
Darla’s alarm blared, and a red light strobed overhead.

They both screamed as Darla crashed on the nearest planet.

They walked out of Darla dazed and beat up, coughing from the smoke.

“Great job, Catra!” Adora snapped.

Catra gave her a light shove. “Me? You were piloting the stupid thing!”

Suddenly they both tensed. They were in a jungle clearing surrounded by vines. There was a rustling right in front of them, whatever it was obscured by the foliage.

Adora transformed into She Ra and Catra extended her claws.

A man emerged from the vines.

A man with brown fur, catlike ears and mismatched eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

They stared at each other, frozen, nobody knowing what to do or say.

Adora broke the silence, turning wide sparkling eyes to Catra.

“Look, there’s more of you”

Catra blushed, looking troubled.

Adora gave her signature snort laugh, cut off by a gasp as she grasped the implication.

“Eternia, Catra, there’s more of you! This may be where you come from” she turned to the man as Catra looked away.

“What is this place? What are you? What is Catra? Oh I have so many questions!”

The man blinked hiving been lost in thought, staring at Catra. “My name is Jay. I’m a Magicat”

“Magicat” Adora turned to Catra “Did you hear that, you’re a Magicat! That’s such a cute name. I can’t wait to tell Bow”

“Please don’t”

“I’m gonna tell him”

Jay was still staring at Catra.

“a Magicat that doesn't know…” he trailed off and shook his head. “In any case, that was quite the crash you ladies had. Why don’t you come over to my place to rest while I take a look at your ship?”

“Her name is Darla” Adora said brightly. Her smile faltered. “ and Entrapta will kill me for crashing her”

Catra snickered. “She totally will”

Adora gave her the stink eye. “Brat!”

they both dissolved into laughter as Jay led the way to his home, a hut similar to Madam Razz’s.

Adora gasped. Hung on the wall was a portrait of a Magicat kitten with huge ears a long mane and looking on the verge of tears.

Adora pointed. “Catra. That’s you.”

Catra looked uncomfortable. “You don’t know that’s me.”

“It’s you. You think I don’t remember what you looked like when we were little?” she cracked a smile. 

“I almost forgot how big your ears were. You were like a tiny, angry bat”

“Hey, shut up!”

Jay looked at Catra. Catra couldn't meet his eyes. 

“That is a picture of my niece, my sister’s daughter. When she was a small kitten, an invading army came through a strange portal and attacked the nearby town. A lot of Magicats lost their lives”

This time, Adora looked away. “the Horde” she murmured in a strained voice.

“the soldiers were eventually beat back but they took some of the kittens. We never knew why. My niece was one of those kittens. My sister and brother-in-law never got over that loss”

Adora sat , her mind reeling. Catra was rigid in shock and looked close to tears, like in her baby picture.

“We know why” Adora whispered. “Catra and I were taken from our homes as babies to be raised in that army’s cadet program. To be soldiers.”

Jay looked horrified.

“We grew up together there, in the Horde. Right, Catra?”

Catra swallowed. She looked as shell shocked as that day long ago in the Crimson Waste, when Adora told her Shadow Weaver was in Brightmoon. “Yeah” she whispered “It was just us for a long time”

“And then” Adora said excitedly. “And then we...well it’s kinda a long story, but we left the horde.”

Jay shook his head in wonder “Incredible. But...why are you here? How did you come to crash your ship here?”

Adora flushed. “it’s...actually our honeymoon. We got married last week.” she gave Catra a sharp look. “Catra got us sidetracked on our way home.”

“My niece all grown up and married” Jay wiped away tears. “it’s a miracle”

“My parents” Catra said in a small voice. “Are they...are they still alive?”

Adora looked shaken. “oh man, Catra, I’m sorry. I didn't even think of that”

“Don’t worry” Jay said. “They’re alive.”

Adora shook Catra’s shoulder enthusiastically. “Did you hear that? Your mom and dad are alive!”

“...I heard” Catra whispered, clutching Adora’s hand. “I heard”

“They should be home anytime now.” Jay said. “you’ll be able to meet them. After all these years.”

Adora took out the tracker pad. When it turned on the feed showed bow tinkering with an old Horde bot.

“Bow!” Glimmer called from off screen. “Stop messing with that thing!”

“I’m not messing” Bow said mildly “I’m experimenting. Oh hey, Adora, Catra” Bow noticed them and waved.

“Adora and Catra are calling?” Glimmer asked, putting her head into frame.. “Hey guys! Where are you? What happened?”

Bow nudged Glimmer. “Uh, Glimmer? Look at that”

He pointed to Jay. Glimmer gasped, pointing and looking back and forth between Jaw and Bow, her mouth wide open in shock.

“Uh, why does that guy look just like Catra?” Bow asked.

Adora grinned. “You guys will never believe this”

Catra regarded the ghost of her past elf, her claws extending and retracting.

“Jay” cam a woman’s voice from outside the hut, a voice that sounded just like Catra’s. “We’re home”


	15. Chapter 15

a Magicat pushed the hut’s curtain away. She was the mirror image of Catra except her fur was graying a bit.  
“I got the…”  
Her words died in her throat when she saw Catra’s stunned face and Adora practically squealing. Behind her was a Magicat with yellow fur, also graying, with Catra’s lazy smile.  
“Myra” Jay said softly. “Ed. This is your daughter, Catra”  
Tears welled the older woman’s eyes, but she quickly mastered herself, wiping away the tears with a hollow laugh.  
“they named you Catra?” she asked with a sarcastic smirk. 

Oh yes, this was definitely Catra’s mother.  
Catra raised her eyebrow at Adora. Adora blushed.

“I was three! What do you expect?”

Catra’s father said nothing but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Catra. “you look just like your mother” he finally whispered in wonder. :I always wondered if you would”

“Is that them?” Glimmer called from the tracker pad feed. “Catra’s mom and dad?”

Adora turned the screen so she and Bow could see them more clearly.

“Oh my God, hi!” Glimmer waved enthusiastically. “we’re Catra’s family!”

“Glimmer” Bow admonished gently.

“Oh. Right” Glimmer rubbed her head musing her hair. She was clearly thinking about reuniting with Micah. “Of course, you're her family too”

Myra touched Catra’s chin. Catra flinched for a second before purring. Shadow Weaver had never been so affectionate. Unless you counted the fake reality born from the out of control portal, but Catra and Adora tried not to think about that.

“My sweet baby” she whispered. She hugged Catra fiercely and Catra melted into her mothers embrace. She was crying softly now.

Catra’s father shook Adora’s hand firmly.

“Thank you” he said in a choked voice. He turned to Bow and Glimmer “all of you. For taking care of our daughter”  
Catra had quietly stalked off.

Adora found her sitting outside hugging her knees to her chest, the way she would find Catra when they were children after Shadow Weaver had been particularly nasty.

Adora sat next to her and held her close. “what’s wrong? I though you’d be happy to find your family”

“I am. Really. It’s just…weird, you know? You and Arrow Boy and Sparkles are my family. These people are strangers.” She sighed “and I cant help thinking…if they raised me, if the Horde had never found me…would I have had a happy childhood? Would I be a better person without Shadow Weaver?”

“Catra”

“Then I think if I hadn’t been taken by the horde I would have never met you. Or Glimmer or Bow. And I cant imagine my life without you”

“I know. It’s not fair. I have no idea where I come from, maybe I never will. But I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for being with you. Even with all the bad stuff”

A shadow loomed over them. Catra’s father was looking down at them with a small, sad smile.

“Your ship…Darla, right? She’s all fixed up. I suppose you ladies will be…heading home now”

Adora brightened “Hey, I know! Dad…oh wow, that’s weird to say. You’re my father in law so that’s the right word right?” she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

He looked like he would cry tears of joy “Dad is great”

“Why don’t we take you with us? There’s plenty of room in Darla and spare rooms in the palace. You could visit us!”

“Palace?” he asked with a jolt.

“yeah that’s a…long story” Catra said drily. She turned to Adora, determined and hopeful but with the frightened cornered look she would get when she was in trouble with Shadow Weaver as a kid. Fight or Flight.

“We should tell Sparkles to put out extra cushions”


	16. Chapter 16

Darla landed on the Brightmoon training grounds. Glimmer ran up to meet them, Bow right behind her. As he jogged along, a Horde bot scurried by him as he tried to repair its circuits in mid jog.

“Bow! Leave that thing be! We’re meeting Catra’s family for the first time!”

“But I’m almost finished programming it to carry all my trick arrows!”

“...why!? You have a quiver, Bow!”

Catra’s relatives looked at Adora in confusion. Adora laughed.

“they’ve been squabbling like an old married couple since they were like, eight”

Catra’s father craned his neck looking up at Brightmoon’s highest tower where the Moon Stone was held.

“Woah” he whispered as his brother in law slapped him on his back and his wife pulled him along.

“This is where you live?” he asked Catra, incredulous.

“That’s what I said!” Catra said enthusiastically.

Adora rolled her eyes as Glimmer gave Catra’s relatives big hugs and Bow waved happily.

“It’s amazing to met you” Glimmer gushed, wringing Myra’s hand. “You must have so many questions for Catra. And, well, all of us I suppose. Oh! I’ll make tea! Do you like tea? Catra likes it with milk. Do you like milk tea?”

“Glimmer” Bow whispered.

“Sorry” her voice softened. “I’m just excited. We never knew where Catra or Adora cam from. I always hoped there was something better out there for them than...well...Shadow Weaver” she finished in a hush.

Jay smiled thinly. “It sounds like all Catra needed was you all. That’s more than enough”

Catra’s parents looked away. Catra’s ears went flat. 

“Hey, come on, we’ll show you around” she said, taking her parents hands eager to change the subject.

Suddenly there was a yowl that didn’t come from any of the Magicats. Catra went sprawling onto the grounds, hit by a big ball of fluff.  
“Melog!” Catra shrieked happily as he licked her face. “I missed you too, buddy. Sorry we took so long. We got…sidetracked”

She gestured vaguely to the other Magicats. Melog gave a complacent “mrrr”.  
  
“What do you mean you knew already? Oh right, psychic link” Catra blinked, frowning. “Even after all these years I forget I’m in weird magical princess land”

Jay put his hand out for Melog to sniff. Melog stuck his wet nose on his hand and gave it a small lick, purring.

Ed raise his eyebrows. “You’re a cat with a …pet cat?”

“Long story”

“You seem to have a lot of those”

Catra laughed mirthlessly. “For a long time it seemed like that was all I had”

Glimmer ushered everyone in Brightmoon, still babbling about tea.

“I do love milk tea” Myra whispered to her daughter. Catra smirked.

“Adora used to save extra powdered milk rations for me when we were little”

Myra squeezed her hand.

They arrived at the cavernous front hall where Angella and Glimmer’s coronation portraits hung.

“Oh yeah, that’s new” Adora mumbled with a mouthful of sour candy pointing at a new painting beside them.

“where did you get that candy?” Bow asked.

“Emergency candy pocket”

“What?”

The new portrait was of the Best Friend Squad, all four, painted just after their wedding. Glimmer and Bow were trying and failing to look dignified and regal but they were barely able to keep straight faces

You couldn’t tell, but Catra was doing her favorite thing: messing with Adora. She was tickling Adora behind her back with her tail so Adora was forever immortalized in her official royal wedding portrait trying desperately not to laugh.

Catra smiled at her parents and uncle. “I think you’re gonna like it here.” She rolled her eyes and said grudgingly “I do”

Adora popped her last piece of candy in her mouth and put Catra in a headlock.

“Catra admits she likes us!”

“I do not!”

“I remember wedding vows that say otherwise!” Adora teased.

Everyone but Catra laughed as a guard escorted the guests to their rooms to rest from their journey.

The best friend squad were left alone in the front hall, their laughter echoing.

Glimmer and Bow smirked at Catra, as she only halfheartedly tried to escape her wife’s gentle hold.

Eventually she gave up and just laughed too. And they were enough.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Adora was pouring some cereal at the war table as Carta came to breakfast yawning.

Adora looked both ways like she didn’t want to get caught and took some pieces of candy from her jacket and put it in her bowl.

“Adora!” Bow said sharply, pulling the bowl way from her. “You cannot have candy for breakfast. You’ll ruin your teeth!

“Okay, Dad” Adora said mockingly, taking the bowl back and eating her concoction.

Glimmer’s usual immaculate haircut was ruffled and fraying all over the place as she poured herself coffee with bleary eyes.

With her first sip she rejuvenated with a contented sigh.

“You know what” she said suddenly as Bow wrestled Adora’s bowl from her and Catra laughed “ We haven’t had a day to ourselves in like forever. We should do something, just the four of us”

“Glimmer, our wedding was like, last month” Bow countered, holding the bowl over Adora’s head. She turned into She Ra to reach it.

“Yeah, and that was with everyone around. Especially Aunt Casta” Glimmer groaned.

Catra’s parents came down to breakfast giving Catra nervous, hopeful glances.  
Catra looked at them with longing.

“Your uncle is still sleeping, Sweetheart” Myra said.

“Buuuut” Glimmer stammered, backpedaling “It…would be rude! Not to show our guests around!”

“Oh! Oh! I know” Adora said, turning back into normal form “we can go to Seahawk’s favorite tavern. I’m the undisputed arm wrestling champ there”

Myra lit up. “What a coincidence, so am I, back home”

She put her arm down on the war table in an arm wrestling pose.

Adora grinned. “You’re on!”

“No She Ra form, now!”

Catra and her father looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“I see we both have a type” Ed said bluntly. Catra turned red.

He laughed. “Sweetheart, it’s ok to admit you like her, she’s your wife”

Melog poked his head up from under the war table and headbutted Catra with a purr.

Catra pat his head idly with a soft smile. “Yeah. I really do”

Ed flashed a fang filled grin and draped his arm over his daughter. “What are you waiting for? Show your old man the sights!”

At the tavern, Adora ordered everyone drinks. As she brought the tray to the table, someone was thrown and crashed into a chair behind her, crushing it into splinters.

“Isn’t this place great?” Adora said brightly, setting the sour beverages down in front of them.

“Sure” Catra drawled sarcastically, taking a long sip. “Who doesn’t like an excuse for you and Seahawk to act like idiots?”

Glimmer snorted into her tankard.

Bow furrowed his brows. “So long as nobody real-fake kidnaps me again I’m fine”

The Magicats stared, even Catra.

“I… don’t think I heard this story” Catra said.

“Yeah, the war got really crazy there for a while. I mean, like, right after that glimmer and Catra were kidnaped by Horde Prime. And remember when we accidentally kidnapped Catra from the Fright Zone?”

Myra blinked. “Was the war just a lot of people taking prisoners?”

Bow’s eyes widened as if seeing clearly for the first time. “You know what, it kind of was”

Catra snickered as Glimmer and Adora gave each other startled looks. 

“Uggggh, Seahawk WHY do we always come here? It’s disgusting” came Mermista’s unmistakable voice.

“Because they know me here, dearest” Seahawk answered “and I burned the boats of every other tavern owner in Seaworthy”

“Uuuugh”  
Glimmer waved her hand, holding the tankard, splashing bow.

“Hey, watch out!”

“Guys! Over here!”

“friends!” Seahawk cried and raced to their table.

Mermista groaned and sat down with them. It was always hard to tell with her, but she seemed happy to see them.

She blinked at the two extra Magicats and rubbed her eyes. “Ok, not gonna get into whatever this is”

Adora put her arm on the table and gave Seahawk an evil grin “You and me, buddy, lets go”

Seahawk practically sparkled from excitement “En garde!”

Mermista glanced sideways at Catra who couldn’t keep a straight face.

Catra watched Adora and Seahwak’s millionth rematch wryly. Myra cheered them on.

Ed put his hand on Catra’s shoulder. “I think we chose ok, Sweetheart” he said.

Catra scoffed but her cheeks were red again. “Yeah. Yeah we did”


	18. Chapter 18

“Are you coming?” Catra smirked and held out her hand to Adora.

Adora smiled softly, putting her arm around Catra. They could hardly believe it had been ten years since Frosta’s PrincessP. Catra’s family was back on the Magicat home planet for a short while but planned on returning soon. It was too bad they were missing the party.

“Yeah. Can’t be late for Scorpia’s first ball after all” Adora ruffled Catra’s hair “and you know it’s easier for everyone involved if you just let Glimmer brush your hair right?”  
“never!”  
Adora turned her draped arm into one of her patented play headlocks.

Catra shrieked with laughter.

“Ok! Ok! Cut it out, Adora! Geez! hold on a sec” Catra untangled herself from the hold and darted to the other side of their room by the waterfall. She picked up a loose dirty sock Adora had thrown haphazardly. She picked it up with her mouth and put it in a corner with other socks and rags and discarded linen.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“I don’t know”  
…………………………………………………………………………………….  
The Fright Zone had radically changed after the war. Perfuma went wild with the flowers and shrubs and vines. The entire place was lush and green everywhere you looked.

This year’s princess prom theme was “flowers” though it as hard to tell how that was different from how Perfuma normally decorated.

Perfuma greeted them cheerfully giving the best friend squad flower crowns ,and flower cummerbunds for Catra and Bow’s tuxes.

Glimmer took a glass of Seahawk’s favorite sour drink from a passing waiter and sniffed it.

Glimmer suddenly held her hands to her mouth and took off running to the restroom. They heard her retching.

“Are you ok?” Bow shouted to her.

Adora and Catra rushed into the women’s room to help. When the emerged, Glimmer was being supported between them.

She wiped her mouth warily. Bow hugged her. When he pulled away he held her at arms length, examining her. “What happened? Did it smell too strong?”  
“I don’t know. I’ve never been sick” she said “never. Just the glitching I had during the war. What’s going on?”

Catra meanwhile was on edge. Whenever a stranger passed too close she instinctively hissed and backed away.

She hid behind Adora, ears twitching.

“What is with you today?” Adora asked as Catra peaked out from behind her making a soft yowl. “You haven’t been this jumpy in years”

“Look” Bow said, his voice rising “I’d feel a lot better if you two see a doctor”

Glimmer took his hand “Stop worrying bow” she said gently.

But Bow was having none of it. He took Glimmer and Catra’s hands and marched toward the parking space where once was a junkyard when the area was the Fright Zone. To be fair, most of the Fright Zone had been a junk yard.

“Glimmer, I don’t think you should teleport right now” Bow said.

“Bow I’m fine!” Glimmer protested.

Kyle, Lonnie and Rogelio were talking and laughing by the skiffs.

Bow deftly pulled a set of keys from Kyle’s pocket.

“Hey!” Lonnie called after him.

Bow waved the keys over his head “Borrowing your skiff, Kyle”

“Really, Kyle?” Lonnie glared at him, but she was smirking affectionately.

Rogelio roared in disappointment. 

Bow and Glimmer took one skiff, Catra and Adora the other. They held tightly onto their wives’ waists until they reached Brightmoon and Bow ushered them into the old hospital wing. a holdover from the war.

A nurse took samples of Glimmer and Catra’s blood with much hissing from Catra as Adora held her hand.  
After a while the doctor walked into the infirmary. Bow clutched at Glimmer protectively.

But the doctor grinned as he examined the two women. “Congratulations, your Majesty, Lady Catra. You’re both pregnant”

Bow and Adora squealed in unison and gave Glimmer and Catra crushing hugs.  
“Ok, ok quit it, Bow” Glimmer laughed “at least Aunt Casta will get off my back about ‘producing an heir’” she said this last part in an exaggerated imitation of her aunt’s voice.

“Is it a boy? A girl? Neither?” Bow asked. He gasped. “What if it’s twins!”

“Eternia, don’t say that, Bow!” Glimmer cried, alarmed.

Adora’s eyes gleamed. “is catra going to have a litter?”

The doctor chuckled. “No, just one each.”

Adora’s eyes widened “Are they going to be a Magicat kitten? Catra was so adorable when she was a kitten. I can’t wait to tell your family, Catra! Catra?”

Catra was staring at the floor with wide eyes, claws digging into her knees. She was clearly on the edge of a panic attack. 

Glimmer untangled herself from Bow “Doctor will you excuse us”

The doctor took his leave.

Adora Bow and Glimmer piled on her with a group bear hug.

“You’re not her” Glimmer whispered.

“Yeah, you got this” Bow encouraged.

Adora nuzzled into Catra’s neck “you’re going to be a great mom”

Catra nuzzled into her warmth.

Bow rubbed Glimmer’s stomach in awe. He looked up at her solemnly. “I think I know whatyou want to name them”

Glimmer squeezed his hand and looked out the window where they could see Queen Angela’s statue.

“So, what should we name them?” Adora asked Catra.

“I’ve always liked the name Finn”

A/N: Finn and Baby Sparkles on the way! For the purposes of this fic I’m going with the “same sex couples can have kids magically” theory


	19. Chapter 19

“I can hear her teleporting in there” Bow whispered reverently, listening to Glimmer’s very pregnant stomach. He could vaguely hear the shimmering sparkle sound Glimmer always made when she teleported.

He, Micah, Lance and George were crowded around her stomach trying to listen. Glimmer sighed in annoyance. For reasons the young couples couldn’t fathom all three older men were wearing matching shirts the read “Etheria’s greatest grandpa!”

Beside her Adora was rubbing Catra’s stomach as Myra brushed Catra’s hair.

Adora’s eyes widened. “I think they kicked. Strong, too” she gasped. “What if our kid has super strength?”

“Don’t say that, Adora!” Catra exclaimed. Myra laughed and hugged her daughter.

“Stop worrying, sweetheart, the baby is going to be perfect”

“Wait” Bow said “does this she’s going to randomly teleport when she’s born?”

Glimmer shrugged. “Probably. I did”

“You did?” Bow asked, alarmed.

Michah laughed fondly. “This one would always teleport into my lap in her sleep. Or accidently teleport to a random part of the castle. She’d get so scared and cry. Some days all the guards would do all day was chase her around”

“Glimmer?” Bow was panicking now.

“Relax, Bow. I couldn’t control my teleporting until I was like, five years old. And I was fine. She will be too.”

“You never told me about this. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Glimmer blushed. “By the time we met I could control it a little better and I wanted to seem cool”

“So you’re telling me she may not have control of her powers for five years?” Bow clutched his head “I’m going to lose this baby so many times. This is already so scary”  
As Glimmer comforted him, Adora was busying herself furiously covering furniture in protective plastic and corners of halls with industrial tape from Darla.

“Adora! What are you doing?” Glimmer exclaimed, exasperated.

“If this this kid is going to be anything like Catra they’re gonna bite. They’re going to bite everything”

Myra nodded solemnly. “Magicat kittens indeed bite and scratch everything”

“It’s true, I did” Catra said cheerfully “You know that gash in the Fright Zone in the room that’s Scorpia and Perfuma’s bedroom now?” she jabbed a thumb toward herself grinning smugly “that was me”

Adora exposed her bicep and pointed to a faint scar, the outline of a bite mark “I was her favorite chew toy. I got his scar when she bit down a little too hard when we were three. Shadow Weaver was so mad”

Micah snorted in disgust “I bet she was”

Adora took Catra’s hands and looked at her seriously. “I promise not to yell at the baby, like she did with you”  
Catra rested her head on Adora’s chest. “I know you won’t, dummy”

Bow flipped feverishly through a book called “Magical Pregnancy and You”  
“There’s nothing in here about teleporting and biting. Our kids are going are going to be teleporting and biting everywhere and we won’t be able to handle it and my kid isn’t born yet and I’m already a horrible father!” his eyes were big and round and full of tears.

Adora’s eyes bugged out “What if I can’t teeth them? What if I cant feed them? Do Magicat kittens take bottles?”

“You guys, relax” Glimmer and Catra enveloped them in a group hug.

“Yeah, dummies, you’ll be great” Catra mumbled against Adora’s back, holding onto Bow’s hand.

“In fact, we have something for you” Glimmer said, summoning a small package with her magic “just…keep in mind it was my dad’s idea, ok?”

She opened the package. Inside were two oversized shirts reading “Etheria’s best dad!” And “Etheria’s best (human) mom!”

“Now we match!” Michah exclaimed tugging at his shirt. Lance nodded enthusiastically. George hit his forhead with the palm of his hand.

Glimmer’s eye twitched “That’s great, Dad”

“Don’t forget yours!”

Micah threw two more t-shirts to Glimmer and Catra reading “best (half human)” and “best (cat) mom”

Bow closed his book “you’re right. We are going to be great parents. Because we’re the Best Friend Squad!”

“Dad thinks we should wear them to Perfuma’s Lamaze classes” Glimmer said reluctantly.

“Perfuma has a Lamaze class?” Adora asked.

“It’s like yoga. There’s overlap. That’s not the point”

“At least these cheesy matching shirts aren’t as bad as…”

“Oh, little Glimmer!”

“Oh no. No. Dad, you didn’t!”

“Baby girl, you know your aunt likes to be included”

“This is stressful enough without her”

Casta burst into the room carrying enough yarn to make then entire rebel army sweaters. If there were still a rebel army.

“Aunt Casta, hi” Glimmer said with forced enthusiasm “you do realize there’s only going to be two babies, right?”

“What kind of great aunt would I be if I didn’t give them full wardrobes? Why I made all of your baby clothes, Glimmer” she pinched Glimmer’s cheek. Glimmer looked mortified.

“And who’s been keeping Bow in socks since he was eight years old?” 

“Thank you, Aunt Casta” Bow beamed.

“Bow! Don’t encourage her!” Glimmer ground out.

Casta turned to Myra and whipped out some knitting needles “now what are looking at in terms of tail circumference?”  
Myra made a small circle with her hands “about like this when there born but they grow fast”

Catra groaned and buried her face in her hands blushing.

Casta gave Bow her many bags of yarn for safe keeping as she started on a onesie.

He was drowning in pastel colors as his tracker pad went off.

Balancing everything, Bow turned it on to Perfuma’s distressed party planner face.

“You guys haven’t RSVP’d to the Lamaze class yet and Micah said you made matching outfits and everything you know how I feel about people not RSVPing”

“Look, we have a yarn crisis right now! I have to call you back!

Bow tuned off his pad and sighed. “This is going to be harder than I thought”

Bow glared contemptuously at his pregnancy book and threw it into a nearby trash can.

“This book did not account for our family”


	20. Chapter 20

The Best Friend Squad arrived in Plumeria late for Perfuma’s class.

Adora groaned “We are always late” she glared pointedly at her wife and grinned “and its always your fault”

“just because I don’t like people touching my hair…” Catra protested.

“If you don’t want your hair fixed, you shouldn’t have grown it out” Glimmer pat Catra’s head and Catra pulled a face. 

She looked down in disgust at the custom shirt they were all sporting. “And I can’t believe I’m wearing this. You princess types have ruined me”

Adora laughed. “Y’know when the baby is a little older they may want to do your hair. Remember how I used to braid Shadow Weaver’s when we were little?”

Catra shivered. “Yeah, and when I tried to help you she pushed me away from her and yelled at me, and oh Eternia, I’m beginning to realize why I have a hang up about this”

Bow read over the brochure Perfuma had wrote and decorated with flowers “Did you bring the mat?”

“Yes, Bow, stop worrying” Glimmer squeezed his shoulder, walking past him unconcernedly  
to where Perfuma was waving to them.

Mermista was sitting looking bored, idly texting someone on her tracker pad, probably Seahawk.

Lonnie was being smothered by Kyle and Rogelio. Both were going to be first time mothers too.

“Will you two cut it out? I’m fine!” Lonnie snapped. Rogelio roared mildly and Kyle gave her his biggest puppy dog eyes.

She sighed. “I’m sorry I know you guys are worried. But its gonna be fine”. They both hugged her. She rolled her eyes and grinned.

Adora sat down next to Mermista “Where’s Seahawk?”

“Um, I thought this thing was supposed to be relaxing?” Mermista drawled not looking up “he’s bad for my blood pressure. And for the last time he’s not the father”

“Riiight. So how old you think he’ll be before he burns his first ship, three, or…”

“Shut up, Adora”

Adora snickered as Perfuma clapped her hands. “Ok, ladies. Hold your special guy or girl’s hand. Feel the relaxing energy”

But by that time, Seahawk had started a video chat on Mermista’s tracker pad, encouraging them and setting the pace with a sea shanty. Relaxation was never an option.

Adora took Catra’s hands, Catra’s claws digging softly into her partner’s hands, not hard enough to hurt. They smiled at each other, stupidly happy but also terrified.

Rogelio and Kyle jostled for Lonnie’s hands. She developed a tick in her eye.

Glimmer winced as Bow squeezed too hard “This is stupid” she whispered.

“Shhh”

“Bow, you’re squeezing too hard!”

“Sorry!” he fished a small round gadget out of his pocket “I’ve bee thinking about the teleporting…issue”

“this is a portable baby monitor. It’s synched to my tracker pad. That way we can always track her. And we always know she’s safe”

Glimmer hugged him tightly “My husband, the genius”

“Crushing!”

“Sorry!”

Adora beamed at Catra. They were almost nose to nose. Catra looked away, blushing.

“Hey. Do my hair” Catra muttered.

“What?”

“Do my hair!” Catra hissed grudgingly “If the kid wants to do it…I don’t want to disappoint them”

Catra clutched her stomach with a soft Oof! And she laughed “Like that idea, Finn?”

Adora’s eyes were wide and full of tears. She kissed Catra “How do I keep falling more in love with you?”

“Dork”

Adora pulled gently on Catra’s luxurious mane. Catra closed her eyes and purred contentedly at the touch.   
“Honestly, Glimmer is right, why did you grow your hair out again if you weren’t going to let us play with it?” Adora murmured.

“Just to annoy you” Catra whispered, sighing at the feeling of Adora’s finger s running through her hair.

She grunted softly in pain as Finn kicked again.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah” Catra grimaced “It was just a strong kick. And super close together. Ow! Finn’s gonna be as strong as you some day”

She glared at Adora as just as Finn kicked, Adora wove her hair into a tight braid, harder than she intended.  
“sorry” Adora said sheepishly.

“Geez are you both trying to kill me?”

“Glimmer did this to my hair once” Adora said softly, voice full of nostalgia “I dunno if I ever told you this. The first night in Brightmoon I couldn’t sleep. I kinda killed the bed”

“What does that mean?”

“Not the point. Anyway, Glimmer and Bow started sleeping in my room sometimes. The first night they did. Glimmer and I woke up first.” Adora blushed “When we were waiting for Bow to wake up she told me I had beautiful hair and she had to braid it”

“Her first victim” Catra chuckled then winced “stop it, Finn!”

“Those really are close”

“No kidding.” Catra grunted. She blushed “I dunno if I told you this. Remember our last sleepover? The night you left the Fright Zone?”

“I was gonna put the shaving cream from the boy’s locker room on your face. But you looked so cute I forgot all about it. I, uh, just sort of stared at you all night like a creeper” she rubbed the back of her neck “I fell asleep curled up on your bed. I woke up when you...left. I wish I had known that was the last time we would be together, really together, for years. Until…wow. Horde Prime’s ship. That was what, three, four years later?”

Adora squeezed her hand and rubbed her stomach feeling Finn kick. “When I thought you died on that ship, when you fell…Eternia, my heart stopped. When you woke up and hugged me I felt like I was home again. You and me against the world again.”  
Catra laughed through the pain, trying to concentrate on her breathing. And baby makes three, I guess. And that time might be now”

“You mean…?”

“Ready to meet your kid, Dummy?”


	21. Chapter 21

“This taking a long time. Is it supposed to take a long time?” Adora asked Bow nervously for the millionth time.

“I don't know” Bow said, panicking.

They were holding Catra’s and Glimmer’s hands in the castle’ infirmary.

As if it was a coordinated attack, as soon as Finn was about to be born, Angie decided she wanted out too.

“Yes, Bow” Glimmer gritted her teeth as she squeezed his hands “I took thirty six hours. I know that because 


	22. Chapter 22

“They’re so…peaceful” Bow said “It’s weird”

The Best Friend Squad had just put Finn and Angie down for nap time in the new nursery. Bow had insisted on painting it with scenes of pirates. The girls didn’t have the energy to argue with him. Glimmer drew the line however when he wanted to paint the pirate ships on fire.

“Yeah, I don’t trust it” Catra agreed, nursing her hand full of Finn’s bite marks. They had started teething early and Catra was their favorite teething toy much to her dismay and Adora’s amusement.

Adora kissed her hand. “It just means they like you. You always gave me love bites when we were little”

“Yeah, but I was bad kid”

Finn slept on innocently, punching the air and whimpering. Catra grinned at Adora “They get the sleep fighting from you, though”

Angie was better at controlling her teleporting than Glimmer had been as a baby which miffed her. But she still had accidents. Like now when the snoring purple haired infant teleported in her sleep right on top of their cousin. Both woke up screaming ad crying.

The Best Friend Squad sighed as one.

“So much for peaceful” Glimmer muttered.

She picked up Angie and rocked her “Shhh, Shh, there’s a good girl”

Catra picked Finn up by the scruff of their neck with her teeth. She blushed. She took Finn in her arms “I don’t know why I keep dong that”

They were still fussy when their mothers put them down.

Bow flipped through his parenting book. It was heavily annotated with notes for his own version, more relevant version. 

“Why do you keep reading that? It’s never helpful” Glimmer complained. Catra snickered. Bow glared at them.

“It says here they may like a bedtime story to calm down” Bow said pointedly ignoring them.

“How about we tell them about what happened after we beat Prime?” Adora suggested, playing with Finn’s tail.

“Oh, right, we can tell them a story about an intergalactic warlord but by pirate stories are too scary for them” Bow rolled his eyes. Glimmer elbowed him in the ribs.

“Come on, our last Best Friend Squad road trip wasn't that scary” Glimmer said.

“I dunno” Bow countered “it started pretty scary…”

….years ago…

The Best Friend Squad laughed in a huddle like there was no tomorrow, whole, finally whole, for the first time.

But for once there was going to be a tomorrow, a new future. One More Best Friend Squad road trip.

“Kids, what are you doing?” Spinnerella called waving to thm from across the blooming green field. “Join the party!”

Frosta was running in circles yelling her head off.

“She’ll tire herself out eventually” Spinnerella said.

Seahawk was burning Horde banners. And Horde ships. And everything he could get his hands on.

The four looked at each other.

“one drink before we go wont hurt” Adora reasoned.

It wasn’t just one drink. The rebels and ex Horde soldiers drank around a bonfire into the night.

More Horde banners were thrown into the bonfire to raucous cheers. Melog ran around to everyone meowing, glowing with the happiness he felt from Catra.

As things wound down Catra fell asleep on Adora’s lap, utterly at peace. Adora gazed down at her lovingly, hardly believing she was there, they were both there.

Glimmer cuddled into Bow’s chest, looking up at the still new stars.

“I wish mom could see this” she whispered.

Bow held her closer “me too”

The four of them woke to a dead bonfire and splitting headaches.

“Ugh, I’m never drinking with Seahawk again” Catra complained as they all piled into Darla. She flopped onto Adora’s lap as she took the pilot seat “Lets make the universe magic or whatever”

Melog, feeling the effects of the previous night from his psychic link with Catra, curled up beside the seat and fell asleep.

“Breaking atmosphere” Darla said in a monotone.

“breaking the what” Adora said flatly.

They all all screamed as Darla rocketed into space at breakneck speed. Red light engulfed Darla as she did as promised and broke the atmosphere.

Catra tumbled out of Adora’s lap and onto Melogs back who yowled.

“Why are things always so weird and scary with you guys!?” she should clinging to Melogs fur as he hissed.

“I don’t know!”Adora yelled, desperately handing on.

Glimmer and Bow as was their default clutched each other ”HOLD ON” Bow yelled. Glimmer closed her eyes and…

…years later…

“See, Bow, it wasn’t too scary” Glimmer whispered.

“Does this mean I get to tell my pirate stores?”

“Don’t press your luck”

Finn and Angie were snoring deeply again. Peace was restored but of course that was never going to last.

Bow turned off the light as Glimmer and Catra walked out yawning.

Adora kissed Finn’s fuzzy little head. They meowed in their sleep.

“To be continued” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on making this a recurring thing, the Best Friend Squad telling the story of bringing magic back to the universe as bedtime stories


	23. Chapter 23

You’d think Bow would have learned.

He had been playing with baby Angie in the gardens, lifting her higher and higher, making space ship noises.

Angie giggled as her father let go on the upswing, catching her as she came down. Bow did this a few more times until instead of coming down she disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

He stared up, with sunken irises and a twitching eye.  
He screamed and turned on his heels, running.

He skidded into the hall almost wiping out as he burst into Adora and Catra’s room.

“I LOST THE BABY”

Adora was sitting on the hard bed, brushing Catra’s hair. Catra winced. Finn was perched on Adora’s head, chewing on Adora’s hair. 

“No, you didn’t” Glimmer was sitting by the window, nursing Angie.

Bow exhaled sharply, clutching his chest and bracing himself against the doorframe. “This kid is already giving me heart attacks”

“Calm down, bow.” Glimmer said “She always teleports to me. She’s hungry. She’s always hungry”

Glimmer regarded at her nursing daughter fondly. “Though I wish Mom was here just in case. She was a whiz at finding me when I was a baby”

Just then, Finn decided to take a big chomp, sinking their teeth in their mother’s scalp.

Adora shrieked dropping the hairbrush. Catra doubled over laughing.

“Ok, you” Adora laughed, extricating the kitten, who continued to try to attach themselves teeth first. “we gotta get to the Alliance meeting”

Bow took out his tracker pad as Glimmer finished feeding Angie.

“Teleporting…when…hungry…Biting…scalp…”

“Bow! Stop it!” Glimmer steered him along the hall as he continued to mumble to himself “You’re worse than Entrapta”

Since the princesses had become parents, the war room became pure chaos. Flower had drawn all over the walls before Scorpia had wrangled her. Flower wriggled in Scorpia’s arms. 

“Put me down, Mommy!” 

“Play with Aunt Emily, Sweetie”

Scorpia placed her on Emily, who stumbled around the room, making Flower laugh.

Mermista had put her baby son in a highchair beside her seat where she was feeding him mushed peas from a pink crystal jar.

“Woah, you guys look terrible” Mermista drawled.

The Best Friend Squad gave tired, sleep deprived stares.

“Look who’s talking” Catra snarked as she took a seat.

Glimmer yawned as Micah took Angie from her arms and Finn from Adora (they were still teething on their mother).

“How’s my two favorite grandkids” Micah cooed. He tickled Angie and handed Finn a teething ring which they bit down on with alarming force.

Glimmer smiled. “You’re so good with them, Dad. Also, they’re your only grandkids”

“Still” Michah said cheerfully.

Myra go up from her place at the war table. “Don’t be a grandbaby hog”

She took Finn in her arms, who was still trying to kill their teething ring. Their tail wagged excitedly, hitting their grandmother’s face.

One moment Micah was cuddling Angie. The next, she was gone in a flash.

Bow tensed but then let out a sigh of relief. “O,k she’s just still hungry. She’ll teleport to Glimmer.”

Moments passed and she hadn’t reappeared.

Then a few more moments.

“IIIIII….don’t think she’s coming back” Adora said awkwardly.

A beat. Then everyone in the room gave a panicked scream and ran out of the war room, Mermista and Scorpia grabbing their children.

They searched frantically for her all down the hallway, Micah yelling at the guards to help them.

“Where could she have gone?” Bow shouted, voice cracking. How his voice was still cracking, nobody knew.

“I don’t know!” exclaimed Glimmer “She’s always teleported to me before”

Catra calmed down enough to come to a realization. She slapped her own forehead. “oh. Right. Duh.”  
She put her nose to the floor and sniffed deeply and followed a scent trail on all fours.

“She’s in the courtyard!” she ran, still on all fours, everyone following. 

They found Angie nestled comfortably in a flower bed, under Queen Angella’s statue.

The Best Friend Squad breathed freely and slumped over.

“I guess I could never have been ready” Bow said ruefully.

Angie looked so peaceful under the benevolent watchful eye of her grandmother.

“She must have felt Mom here” Glimmer said gently.

She picked up the sleeping baby looking up at the statue. Queen Angella smiled down on her daughter. 

Glimmer wiped at her eyes, and grinned, thinking she actually missed being scolded by Angella. How she wished more than anything she could get a talking to from her mother, one last time.

“Thanks, Mom” she whispered “for everything”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! Next time: Finn and Angie's first trip to Mystacor!


End file.
